Family Watch International & NARTH Unveil Ex-Gay 'Documentary'

Submitted by Miranda Blue on Thursday, 12/12/2013 12:03 pm

Two groups that push so-called “reparative therapy” for gay people in the United States and abroad have teamed up to make a documentary explaining their junk science in an attempt to counter efforts to ban the practice for minors.

Family Watch International – a group affiliated with the World Congress of Families that supports the criminalization of homosexuality abroad and retains Uganda anti-gay crusader Martin Ssempa as a “volunteer” staff member – teamed up last month with leaders of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) to produce the half-hour documentary, “Understanding Same-Sex Attraction.”

In the film, NARTH psychologists and self-proclaimed “ex-gays” – some of them with their faces blurred out for privacy – push any number of anti-gay myths, including that homosexuality is caused by sexual abuse, absent fathers, and overbearing mothers.

We’ve put together a short highlight reel:

In a statement on the release of the film, Family Watch International claimed that it is merely trying “to dispel the myths about homosexuality” pushed by “angry” and “intolerant” gay-rights activists.

Think about that for a minute. Suppose your son is sexually abused, which research shows puts him at a high risk for developing same-sex attraction (SSA). If he develops SSA and acts on it, as our policy brief shows, statistically he will be at a much higher risk for depression, drug abuse, anal and colon cancer, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, suicide, and much more. Yet in California, New Jersey and anywhere else where SOCE therapy is now being banned, you not only would be denied the ability to seek this proven therapy for him, your child could be taken away from you, and you could be prosecuted for doing so even though both you and he want to avoid the high-risk homosexual lifestyle.

…

In pursuing this strategy it is common for homosexual activists to get angry, attack and harass people who claim they have changed. They engage in what they call “jamming” by harassing and discrediting anyone who claims they have changed in order to squelch their message. This is why two of the men in our documentary felt they needed to hide their identity. All of these men are very brave to tell their story. It is beyond ironic that homosexual activists who demand tolerance and acceptance of their lifestyle choice are so intolerant of the right of those with unwanted same-sex attraction to choose a different lifestyle.

We at Family Watch will continue to work to dispel the myths about homosexuality and help people better understand this important issue.

Why?

Because we care and are concerned about those who struggle with unwanted same-sex attraction, and want to preserve hope for those who seek help. We are also completely committed to defending the family and family values from any attack, no matter its source or nature.

UPDATE: The Advocate reports that the full "documentary" has been removed from YouTube.